1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a lure holder of simple yet highly effective construction which has numerous advantages including safety and the ability to neatly store fishing lures for convenient removal therefrom. More particularly, it is concerned with a lure holder having a support body defining a U-shaped trough, means for mounting the body to a support surface with the trough opening upwardly, and resilient synthetic resin material filling the trough for releasably receiving the tip of a fish hook therein whereby the shank of the hook and the body of an attached lure extend downwardly along the outboard exterior of the holder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the art of using artificial lures for sport fishing, experienced fishermen have found that fish are attracted to different type of lures depending upon the type of fish, time of day, time of year, weather conditions, water temperature, water depth, and so forth. In an effort to find the particular lure most attractive to the fish, fishermen try a variety of lures in succession. To this end, various prior art devices have attempted to provide a means whereby lures may be safely and neatly presented for convenient access by the fisherman.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,470 displays a body having a plurality of penetrable faces for insertion of one or more series of ganged hooks therein. Such a device, however, does not provide a practical means for mounting the device to the gunwale or seat of a boat which are desirable locations for convenient access by the fisherman. Additionally, such a device is not readily adaptable for safely securing the tips of lure hooks therein without the need for drawing tension on the hook in order to keep it securely confined. Furthermore, such a device does not receive the entire tip of the hook within the penetrable face and the barb of the hook is thus exposed thereby presenting a potential safety hazard.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,511 discloses a fishing lure box designed to be secured to the side of a boat for holding a plurality of fishing lures and which includes a block of elastomeric material into which the hooks of fishing lures are removably inserted. Such a device, however, is not readily mountable to the seat of a boat and furthermore requires the exposed face of the elastomeric material to be mounted vertically so that the material itself supports the weight of the lure thus subjecting the material to tearing when the lure is removed.